Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin of the Organization of American States (OAS), in briefing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on preparations for the upcoming OAS General Assembly, informed the Caribbean Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the status of the negotiations on the Declaration of Panama under the theme “Energy for Sustainable Development.”

In addition to providing details of the logistical arrangements and program of the 37th regular session of the General Assembly, slated for June 3-5 in Panama City, the Assistant Secretary General gave the foreign ministers an overview of political developments in the hemisphere, during a recent meeting of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), in Belize City, Belize.

He also spoke about the critical interrelationship of democracy and governance, integral development and multidimensional security, and the efforts of the Organization’s leadership to promote a more holistic approach to these pillars of the OAS agenda.

Referring to last year’s spate of elections in the Americas, Ambassador Ramdin pointed out that a considerable number of the hemisphere’s foreign ministers attending the General Assembly would be doing so for the first time. The General Assembly will therefore afford many of them the opportunity to meet each other and discuss developments in the Americas for the first time.

Speaking as CARICOM’s highest placed elected official in the inter-American system, Ramdin invited the ministers to reflect on the place and role of CARICOM in the hemisphere, and called on that sub-regional organization to play its part in strengthening the OAS to make multilateralism work more effectively.

In the communiqué issued at the end of their Belize City meeting, the CARICOM foreign ministers described the inter-American process as a significant component of Caribbean multilateral and hemispheric cooperation mechanism. They also applauded ongoing OAS initiatives to focus on development and the multidimensional nature of security, among other priority issues.

While in Belize City, the OAS Assistant Secretary General was also invited to brief a meeting of CARICOM and Central American Integration System (SICA) ministers on preparations for the General Assembly, and to observe the 2nd CARICOM-SICA Summit of Heads of State and Government.

Reference: E-133/07